1. Technical Field
The present subject matter relates to an independent suspension for a wheeled vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
While early wheeled vehicles may have had a rigid coupling of the axel to the body of the vehicle, various suspensions have been used to decouple the bumps in the road encountered by the wheels from the body of the vehicle, thereby providing a smoother ride to the vehicle's contents and/or passengers. Many early vehicles had solid axles extending from a wheel on one side of the vehicle to a wheel on the other side, even for the steering wheels. A split axle for the steering wheels began to be used almost 200 years ago. The split axle allowed for each wheel to have an independent suspension and allows for the various aspects of the steering geometry to be managed.
Some of the independent suspensions that may be in current use provide for vertical movement of the wheel as it encounters an obstruction. This type of arrangement may transmit significant forces to the vehicle that may not be absorbed by the springs and or shock absorbers of the suspension. Some suspensions may tilt the suspension to allow the movement of the wheel to have some horizontal movement as the wheel rises to go over an obstacle, but tilting the suspension may change the caster angle and therefore the handling characteristics of the vehicle.